Nyepi: The Sounds Of Silence

As I stood on a junction in Kerobokan street, a monster passing me by. The crowd cheers, there were more monsters to come, and I've just joined the crowd to cheer at them.

No, I wasn't in horror movie. I was in Bali on the eve of the annual Nyepi day ritual, the Day Of Silence according to Hindu-Balinese's custom, to watch the Ogoh-ogoh, the Monsters Parade, which was a complementary ritual of the former. The monsters made of mixed materials of papers, Styrofoams and fiberglass by each village in one precinct and paraded over the precinct's junctions and main roads. Some monsters were 35 feet tall, while others were small enough to be carried by the local children.

The parade symbolizes the cast-off  of evil spirit before entering the holy state of Nyepi, during which Hindu-Balinese spend 24 hours indoor, practicing silence, restraining themselves from daily activities by fasting and meditating.

Travelling To Bali

It's almost 2 years since I moved, nomad-style, to Bali, the Paradise. An exciting, promising and blessed years actually, because before Bali I was this selfish, jobless, penniless to-hell-with-the-world punk, while now I'm in a business endeavor, a part-time blogger and a husband, living a very productive and lucrative life.

Enough to say that Bali is my personal land of salvation. A place that allowed you to have all the fun while you're at it, too. (For one thing, no rehabs or retreat places do that.)

I believe my view is shared by a lot of people flocking in to Bali each year. Some stay and more coming in, not to mention the "Eat, Pray, Love" pilgrims, from around the world. And to you who haven't visit this literal heaven, I would say, "Welcome!"